Candles
by AngelicTiff
Summary: There's a little bit of loneliness in all of us, but how many can truly find the light in the dark, their candle of hope? Will Spencer be able to show his new charge where that hope is? Can he protect him? What does one Harry James Potter have to do with it? Death Hallows spoilers.
1. The Power Lines Went Out

Candles

**Harry Potter x Criminal Minds **

**Note: For the meantime, PP/WYA is on hiatus while I try to figure out where I'm going with the story. A lot has been happening in real life for me.**

The Power Lines Went Out

Chapter One

"Let's go over this… We're looking at an unsub who apparently drains his victim's of their blood entirely." FBI BAU Supervisory Special Agent, Dr. Spencer Reid, said matter-of-factually.

"Well not just that," FBI BAU Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner said, a frown marring his face. "He takes the bodies, drains the blood after two days and he dumps the drained victim in a dump site. There are very little similarities between any of them."

"The latest victims were a family and their child taken with. He is the only child taken in this case. The boy is Hayden Porter," Supervisory Special Agent and Media Director, Jennifer Jareau, spoke up. "He was taken on the eve of his birthday with his parents apparently, his father about to leave on a trip to Britain. This is the child." She set down a picture of the serious looking brown-haired child about six years old, looking at the camera curiously. His green eyes were astoundingly deep and struck out in the boy's features.

"Hayden has very little similarities to the others while his parents are at least within the same age range as the other victims killed. The unsub might be planning to do something else with Hayden. The Porter's neighbors even told us that Hayden had been acting very unusual the past week." Aaron told his team.

Spencer looked up at the last sentence, the genius' mind thinking of their newest case. Thus far, over seven families had been taken and found in dumpsites, the child killed and left at the scene where the parents taken while the parents were kidnapped and killed, dumped elsewhere. Hayden Porter was the only child to have been taken with the parents.

"Unusual in that he stopped playing around in the front yard as much and had been strangely quiet as if he was unsure," Senior Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan sighed.

"He drains their body… for what though?" asked JJ.

"We could rule out vampire hopefully," Morgan said somewhat sarcastically.

"Well there was the history of the Blood Countess who was accused of torturing and killing women in 1610 and bathing in their blood in order to retain her youth," Reid told them.

"It couldn't be a woman. The unsub managed to take down men alongside women and children. Surely the unsub must be a strong male or a group," Morgan argued.

"Are you suggesting that the unsub could be bathing in the victims' blood?" interrupted Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss. Reid nodded gravely and the idea certainly seemed plausible and yet appallingly unreal to them.

"Where could one go that would be able to hide thousands of gallons of blood," Hotch questioned.

"A slaughter house," spoke up JJ and Reid immediately stood up. After several seconds of fiddling, he made a noise of triumph and withdrew an article about a slaughterhouse located in the dead center of the small town where it connected to every victim.

"The Spears family used to do business at the slaughter house while Sam Tsui and his wife used to pass by it daily. Our latest victim is under the employment of the slaughterhouse! The owner, Stephen Maxwell, actually lives above the place!" Reid said, looking at the team in realization.

They immediately stood up in confirmation and grabbed their gear, heading to the slaughterhouse.

It didn't take long to surround the place and the FBI immediately went inside, hearing screams and a loud noise that could've been a gunshot.

"FBI PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN!" shouted Morgan as he kicked open a door.

And stopped.

Wild-eyed, a small boy of six fixated the gun onto Morgan, shivering and looking ill. His hair was everywhere in his face and before him was the recently deceased corpse of Stephen Maxwell. The entire room was caked in blood, two other bodies off to the side, efficiently drained like wine ready to be tasted.

"Hey," Morgan said, immediately lowering his voice. "You're safe. I'm Derek Morgan, I'm with the FBI."

The blood-battered boy said nothing, shooting him a terrified look that was both understandingly unnerving to look at. The boy did not lower the gun and Reid stepped up beside Morgan.

"Hey Hayden, we're the good guys. We're here to get you out of this place." Reid spoke, his tone gentle. The little boy looked at him and then his eyes went to the two drained bodies. His parents, Reid realized. "Are those your mom and dad?"

There was silence and a pause before the tiny boy nodded his head, lowering the gun at the same time. Reid felt sympathetic with the now orphaned child and he slowly took a step forward, pleased when the boy didn't bring the gun back up.

"We're going to get you out of here, would you like that?" Reid inquired as he lowered himself to one knee. The child –Hayden—nodded warily and Reid could only wonder what would happen to him from this point on.

**Author's Note: So this is my crossover for Criminal Minds and Harry Potter. You'll find out who the little boy is shortly! Just thought I'd get this started now and work on it while I fix up WYA. Happy Reading!**


	2. And I Am All Alone

Candles

**Harry Potter x Criminal Minds **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Harry Potter. I am just a fan fiction writer.**

And I am All Alone

Chapter Two

This wasn't where he wanted to be. Rather he hadn't expected to wind up in this sort of place. There was nothing of familiarity that could indicate his exact location either, he thought sourly as he glanced around, adjusting the glasses on his face with a sort of compulsion that one got from constant fixing.

"Where in the blazes is this place?" he said aloud only to draw stares at his words. He flushed very slightly, peering 'interestedly' at a statue to his right, sighing in relief when the stares were averted. He turned back to his original view only to halt as his reflection was caught in the pond water beside him.

He swore, this time not caring for the shocked stares.

Where was once sharp adult features, round and innocent ones replaced them. His hair was scruffy and baby soft, only toughened at the tips. Wide emerald green round eyes stared back at him as if mocking. This wasn't happening. Who on earth was that _kid_ looking at him? Chestnut brown hair swung in front of his unmarked forehead and he couldn't help but let out a gasp. He wasn't even himself! The only things even similar were his bright green eyes. What in the hell?

"Hayden! Answer me! Hayden!" came a loud voice and he found himself suddenly turned around to look at a stern man who was clearly not one to cross. He almost flinched at the touch to his shoulders, but he held still.

"You know better than to run off buddy," the man scolded. "What on earth made you do that?"

"I— saw a bunny," he said without even realizing why he had been so compelled to say such an abnormally childish answer. The man cracked a smile, which seemed out of place yet completely normal to him. He stood and held out a hand that he took, not truly comprehensive of this situation before him.

"Come on bud, let's get out of here so you can take a nap. Daddy has to get to work but Mommy will be there," the extremely tall (in his opinion) adult said to him and he wondered if he was supposed to be 'his' dad. Was he in someone else's body? This was so bloody confusing that he wondered if he should speak up and tell the man that he wasn't his son, but something stopped him. He simply followed the man, wondering if his name was supposed to be 'Hayden' like the man had called earlier…

They arrived at a very classy, yet homey abode that clearly showed a child –perhaps no more than six years old—lived there. He blinked, glancing around in wonder as he was pulled up the concrete walkway and the man stopped, digging in his pocket before he withdrew his keys and led the two of them in the house.

"Welcome home!" came a high-pitched voice, belonging to the woman that appeared before him, clad in a tight fitting black skirt with a very tight top. He had to stop himself from looking at her chest, knowing his body was a child's for the moment.

"Hey bud, look whose here!" chuckled the man as he swung him up onto his hip and passed him to the woman. He didn't know what to do, having never been around small children although he knew he'd one day have children of his own. Bemused, he put his tiny hands around her neck and clung to her. Apparently, he had made the right move for she cuddled his small body to her.

"How about a snack for my little champion?" she crooned to him and instead of annoyance, a small bubble of amusement welled up inside him. If this was supposed to be his mother then she was certainly a fitting person for the job. He found himself nodding, his stomach agreeing to her words before he himself could say anything.

She carried him towards the kitchen and he smiled timidly as he was set down. He watched her turn to cook and he would have continued to watch her if he didn't hear a muffled noise in the entryway. He glanced at his 'mother' who was preoccupied and he slipped out of the chair, padding down the hall on bare feet as he peaked at the front door and his eyes widened. The man who was supposed to be his 'father' was unconscious and standing over him was someone he didn't recognize, but he could practically feel the insanity bounce off them.

He turned immediately to warn the woman in the kitchen but realized the intruder might be able to hear his footsteps and stop him before then so he bravely called out to her. "Mommy! Run!" he yelled and he was roughly snatched up from his standing spot, a whirl of pain slamming into his noggin and he blacked out…

There was screaming when he slowly stirred and he blearily snapped open his eyes. What was happening? He could hear screams that belonged to a woman and perhaps a man. He looked around, his head hurting.

Right.

Someone who had knocked his 'father' unconscious had taken him from that house. Was he a death eater? He didn't think so but he warily looked around and then he froze. Blood and bones in a dark place, only one room lit enough for sight, surrounded him and he could see…

Oh Merlin.

He couldn't turn his head, eyes wide in surprise and terror as he watched the intruding man murder the woman whom was supposed to be his mother.

His name wasn't Hayden and she wasn't really his mother, but he felt as if that really was who he was. The terror at her death overwhelmed his prepubescent body as if he himself was being murdered but nothing escaped him except a small squeak of fear as the man considered his father was next, his mother's body flopping uselessly to the floor, bloodless.

"_No… No!" _the struggling man yelled as his wife's body landed.

Before he could realize his own movements, he was creeping towards the lit room and hiding behind the door, his eyes looking down at the gun on the floor, hearing the wicked laugh bounce off the walls.

His 'father' was fighting hysterically, calling his son's name out as well as his wife's before he was consumed in pain. The de-aged man stayed rooted to the spot, his eyes widening at the scene before him and he couldn't tear his eyes away until the murderer dropped his father's body over his mother's, cackling and reaching for a bottle.

Everything moved fast and he suddenly ran forward and grabbed the gun, yelping as he hit the wall and causing his finger to snap on the trigger. He saw the man go down in a scream, a hole in his chest from the bullet he'd just shot.

"_FBI PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN!"_

Suddenly there were others swarming the place and he nearly pulled the trigger again, eyes wide and heart racing. Bloody Merlin did they have to freak him out with their sudden entrance like that!

"Hey," said a dark-skinned man, his voice much lower than before. "You're safe. I'm Derek Morgan, I'm with the FBI."

He didn't say anything, eyes wide yet knowing that these were authority figures. He didn't move his hand off the gun, wondering what they would do. Suddenly a scrawny, geeky sort of man stepped up beside the intimidating one.

"Hey Hayden, we're the good guys." He would have snorted at that if he wasn't so concentrated on the gentle tone, soothing him. "We're here to get you out of this place." He looked over at his 'parents', wondering if the man would get them out as well, though it was too late to save them. "Are those your mom and dad?"

He nodded slowly, caution leaving as he lowered his weapon as a sign that he was giving them miniscule trust. The geeky man stepped forward. "We're going to get you out of here, would you like that?" he asked, kneeling down to his height. He nodded warily at the man and couldn't help but wonder.

How did he get here?

**Author's Note: So I'm wondering if you can guess who the person in Hayden Porter's body is. Probably obvious but hey here's my fun of the day. Sorry it took a little while to portray him. He doesn't have as much emotions because he's sort of confused. First chapter might not have made sense but I'll go back and edit it as I write since even I was confused. Lol Hope you liked it!**


	3. And I Don't Really Care At All

Candles

**Harry Potter x Criminal Minds **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Harry Potter. I am just a fan fiction writer.**

**And I don't really care at all**

Chapter Three

The boy.

He was of perfect proportions for his ritual. Innocent to a point, young enough to withstand his torture... He'd been having one man draining innocent victims of blood for this moment. This ritual that would bring him someone he craved to mould, was wistful for the magic of Harry Potter.

Throughout History, no one had been as surpassing of the Boy-Who-Lived. Through such dark times, he'd remained pure, it was astoundingly nauseating and he craved to break the boy's purity, to experiment with that raw magic of his and darken it.

The ritual required many things, the blood of innocents, an unwilling body, and a child. A young boy was required, one that fit many of his target's physical assets in ways that weren't clear, but clearly the eyes had to be the same for they were the heart of the ritual; the sight of the goal.

The blood had to be extracted through muggle means, as horrendous as the thought was. An embalming machine had been used, without the fluid that preserved the body. Naturally, the sight was disturbing, but to him it was the odorous perfume of success.

After the man had filled the large tub to the brim with blood, he'd essentially begun the ritual, having chanted the spell -_Educ abolere potest ex innocentia iuveni_- that brought the mind of Harry Potter merging into Hayden Porter's mind. The process had taken a week as the minds merged, ramming into the young boy's mind obsessively, making him quiet and withdrawn.

That left kidnapping Hayden Porter after Harry Potter was trapped in the body. It was perfect. The magic of Harry Potter in that one boy would be his weapon, his heir. The only way to complete the ritual was to kill the real child's parents and dump their bodies in the blood bath, then drown Hayden in it until he no longer remembered being Hayden or Harry, only having the magic of the famous wizard and the body of the innocent child.

It should have been perfect.

The damn FBI had ruined it. The idiotic man had ruined it. Leaving the damn gun on the floor, he'd been shot before he could put his promising weapon in the tub, and the FBI had barged in soon after.

He would have screamed in rage if he weren't patient. All of those weeks of preserving the blood, choosing the ones to die, had been wasted but he would have to start again.

Hayden Porter would be his.

He had watched as they questioned the withdrawn, deadly silent boy. He smirked to himself, watching on the installed surveillance cameras he'd added with magic. Potter was unable to control most of what the little boy Hayden felt, so he was disoriented and not up for talking just yet. Perhaps he could use this to see how the boy acted with Potter's mind and magic.

There was nothing to stop him once he finally got the boy of course. He was needed in his plans. Preparations could wait, as could he. There was much to be done and he'd have to observe the boy and these FBI muggles, especially the man who was kneeling in front of his weapon.

A game of waiting, one he was sure to win.

**Author's Note: So this is the first time I have an actively scary bad guy in the story, I'm hoping this works out. It's short because this is once again that same scene only from the true unsub's POV. He's behind Hayden Porter's problems right now. If this was confusing then I'll paraphrase in that he used a dark dark dark ritual to bring Harry Potter's magic to Hayden Porter's body so that he could control the Boy-Who-Defeated-Voldemort's magic, but his magic is connected to the mind so the ending ritual of drowning Hayden in the blood was supposed to destroy Potter's mind, leaving the magic. Doesn't make sense but hey it's fanfiction and it's magic!**

**Embalming machines are for morgues or something; I really didn't look too far into it. Next chapter we finally move forward!**


	4. Not Answering My Phone

Candles

**Harry Potter x Criminal Minds **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Harry Potter. I am just a fan fiction writer.**

**Not Answering My Phone  
><strong>Chapter Four

"This is going to be your room for awhile, is that alright?" Spencer Reid inquired as he looked down at the six-year-old holding onto his hand tightly. Hayden had yet to actually say a word but Spencer was pleased when the child nodded timidly, at the very least acknowledging him.

"So dinner will be ready in a few, you can do what you like until then," Spencer said as nonchalantly as he felt he could get away with, letting go of the boy's hand. The child looked startled at the lack of contact before nodding, watching Spencer leave the room.

Dinner was a physical affair for the boy-genius. He normally had takeout and coffee when it came to eating, but he could easily remember cookbooks, thus he was able to wrestle a chicken together with a salad, potatoes, and rolls for the young boy and himself.

"Hayden?" Spencer called as he heard shuffling and he nearly jumped, as he turned, spying the small boy peering up at him, silent. The child's stare was unnerving and yet comforting. "Hey kiddo, you hungry?" The little boy didn't answer but Spencer simply guided him to the table for dinner.

The boy never spoke a word to any of them, and questioning him had failed quite badly since he didn't talk. Hotch had said to give the boy space and time since he was recovering from shooting a man and losing his parents. Spencer wondered if that was truly the reason the boy was so silent.

Spencer guided the child to a chair and Hayden looked at him for a split second before heaving his small body up onto the rather tall chair. The FBI agent flustered as he realized how small the young lad was but he helped him clamor onto the chair the rest of the way and sat down himself.

"Hotch will be over tonight, he wants to ask you a few more questions. Think you can answer them?" Spencer asked hopefully, trying to find words in the awkward silence. Hayden looked up at him, emerald green eyes looking at him calculatingly until the little boy shrugged. Well at the very least it was a response, he thought to himself.

The phone rang and Spencer excused himself, picking up and leaving the room as he did so. Hayden watched him go with a frown. Hayden desperately wanted to tell these agents what had happened in that morbid place, but because of Harry's mindset, the paranoia was confusing him and he felt like he couldn't talk.

So bloody frustrating, he mused to himself as he glared at his chick with anger. He needed to get back to his own time and place! Was he even in the right time? He could be anywhere, even a different world for all he knew. He was completely stumped as to what could have caused him to end up in this six-year-old's little body, the young boy still trying to remain intact. It had made talking hurt his head severely. The only way either could survive in this small body would be to somehow merge his mind with the child's mind.

Perhaps that wasn't such a –

Merlin. Was that? No way! Hayden's eyes widened at the sight before him. Somehow his magic had reacted to his anger and accidental magic had kicked in quite heartily. His dinner was becoming quite animated. The chicken was chasing his potatoes and it looked like his dinner rolls were dancing with one another. Even his salad was having quite the ball it seamed and this really stumped the wizard.

Harry panicked and waved his hand at it, only succeeding in making them angry. His turkey was now eating the potato menacingly and the rolls had turned towards Hayden like predators. He nearly yelled in surprise and slammed his hand down on the plate, the rush of magic catching up and canceling his accidental magic while at the same time his hand brought the other side of the plate up and his entire –now nonanimated—dinner classed to the floor, his plate following shortly and breaking.

The Boy-Who-Lived stiffened as the FBI agent returned and gasped with a short "I'll call you back Morgan," before he felt arms turning his shoulders to face the worried man.

"Is everything alright Hayden?" the man, Spencer, asked in concern. "Did you not like what I cooked? You're bleeding, damn." Hayden blinked and looked down, seeing the blood dripping down his hand. He flinched violently.

Spencer looked at the boy in worry as the child flinched in reaction to his bloody hand. He wasn't surprised, already remembering that the boy had nearly been covered in an entire bath of blood, his parents' blood in it. He reached out and, gently carded a hand through the boy's hand hesitatingly. It caused the boy to halt in his slight shaking and look at Spencer in shock, but he simply continued.

"Let's get this hand taken care of, alright?" Spencer asked softly, keeping his voice low and calm so that the child didn't panic. He had never before taken care of a child, but he was working on a degree in psychology so he knew quite a bit about doing so, just not the physical practice. He had no idea why he was the boy's temporary guardian frankly because they hadn't wanted to leave the child until they could finish the case by figuring out why the boy had been held for last, but he was glad he was. Hayden had nearly run from them when Hotch was about to take him home with him and had kept his hand glued to Spencer's instead.

Seeing as the shattered plate littered all around the chair, he awkwardly reached down and slipped his hands into the cracks of the boy's armpit, heaving him upward somewhat unsurely. The boy had given him a startled look, but didn't squirm and writhe as Spencer pulled him towards his chest and moved his arms to suspend Hayden on his hip like he'd read before.

The trip to the bathroom wasn't as difficult as one would think when carrying a six-year-old boy, so Spencer was relieved. He set the boy on the counter and perused his medicine cabinet. Ever the klutz of a genius, he had quite the enormous supply closet on top of the cabinet, so the man retrieved a cleaner and bandages before turning to the cut up hand from the plate.

"Hayden, will you raise your hand up for me please? Thank you," he suggested and he set to work on disinfecting the cut and he babbled about random facts while he said so, thankfully ignoring the boy's hiss as the disinfectant stung his hand. At least the child wasn't bawling like Spencer had seen with small children on a case. He couldn't really handle that yet.

"Good as new," declared the FBI agent and Harry blinked at him, looking down. It no longer stung from the stuff Spencer had put on his hand at least and he decided to give a very timid smile back, no matter the fact he just wanted to sleep. His head was really starting to hurt and he didn't know if he could stay awake much longer. Not choosing to talk, he gave a very purposeful yawn and Spencer at least caught the hint, lifting him down and giving him a soft goodnight. He didn't say or do anything, moving away from the agent in favor of fleeing to the bedroom and crawling under the covers, pounding his head into the pillow. He gritted his teeth and soon fell asleep to the ache in his head.

Merlin he hoped this merge thing could happen soon.

**Author's Note: I'm hoping this adds to the plot. Thought to add some humor. Harry's magic is starting to react and thank merlin Spencer wasn't in the room right? Haha wonder how the team is going to deal with the sudden weird occurrences around them and if Harry's mind merges with Hayden. Review and tell me your thoughts!**


	5. All The Games We've Played

**Candles**

**Harry Potter x Criminal Minds **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Harry Potter. I am just a fan fiction writer.**

**All the games you've played**

Chapter Five

No. He was not going to give in. Where did Spencer go anyways? Hey, wait.

Crap, Harry inwardly cursed as he found himself drawn to experimentally prodding the tiny plastic truck forward on the sleek wooden floor of his current guardian's living room. A faint blush was dying to make its way to his cheek, but the six-year-old mindset was struggling to take over and Harry was quite offended to hear he was making 'vrooooom!' noises as if he were a child.

Oh right, he was a child; in body at least.

"No Morgan! You bett— gah!" entering in quite a flustered appearance, Spencer returned to his charge and Harry couldn't help but look up, immediately stopping in his 'play' though he'd simply call it experimentation.

Ah hell, it was playing. Didn't mean he had to admit it at least.

"So Hayden, you know how I work with the FBI?" Spencer said in his low and nervous voice. Harry nodded, cocking his head to the side in confusion. When the man licked his dry lips he wondered where the man was going with this. "How would you like to come meet our technical analysis and play with her for a little bit? I have another case we have to work right now and I don't want to leave you here all alone. What do you say?"

He shrugged. What difference did it make to him where he was? The logical side of him agreed but Hayden's mind wanted to cling to Spencer. Harry firmly shoved the child's mind out of the picture for the moment and accepted the genius' hand as he was helped up. He headed to 'his' bedroom and changed before hesitating. Well it couldn't hurt.

Spencer smiled when he saw Hayden take hold of the little toy truck Morgan had dropped by last night when he was sleeping. It was quite an adorable little scene and he didn't comment on this as he took the child's hand and led the two of them to his car.

He didn't look anything like she'd expected.

Of course, he wasn't really expecting the technical geek to be an actual geek, but Merlin's saggy balls; she was definitely the mother of eccentric. She could put Luna Lovegood to shame. He stared, open-mouthed, at one Penelope Garcia.

Spencer had told him that he had to work another case that required his time and Hayden would be under the loving care of their Computer Technician, Penelope. He'd been told she would love him; assured of this even though he'd only stared at Spencer.

He had soon found that her flamboyant, fun-loving, personality was very much unique in it's own entitlement. She'd picked him up the minute she spotted him beside Spencer and, even hours later, had refused to put him down. Harry hadn't touched the floor ever since she'd picked him up. Penelope was also quite emotional, nearly in tears as Spencer explained what had happened to him when they found him, though Hayden hadn't been present during this explanation, he'd simply heard the loud tearful rants from Penelope as she worked even if it was under her breath.

Despite the bright clothes that worsened his headache and the loud personality, he was very drawn to her, as much as he had been drawn to Spencer which still weirded him out. Perhaps it could be blamed on Hayden's mind frame?

"How about this baby boy?" she practically crooned as she pulled up a video of cats falling down a lot. Harry wrinkled his nose and looked at Penelope with a dead look. She got the hint and looked up other videos from this place on the muggle net called 'wootube' or whatever she'd called it. Apparently, muggles posted videos on it quite a lot. He yawned and allowed her to play one with some kind of parody of a bunch of muggle stars.

Derek Morgan entered his baby girl's den hours after Reid had dropped his charge off in there and he had to smile at the sight of Penelope holding the tiny six-year-old in her lap, the child sleeping silently.

"What's up baby?" he said only to be immediately shushed and Penelope gave him a kitten-worthy glare as she shifted the stirring boy to her chest, doing her best to lull the boy back to sleep.

"You, my Chocolate Adonis, better not wake my sweet new baby boy up or I shall bring down the wrath of Penelope Garcia and her super computers on you!" she threatened as she brushed a hand through the unaware boy's brown curly locks.

"How's the kid? He was only allowing Reid near him before," Derek questioned.

"I didn't give him much of a chance to react, but he is warming up to me. He fell asleep watching a youtube video with me," Penelope begrudgingly admitted before she lightly juggled Hayden up and down, seeing the boy frown in his sleep as if he was nearing a nightmare. Spencer had told her the boy had been crying out in his sleep last night, though yelling the oddest things. She really hadn't the foggiest clue what a Voldemort was and what it had to do with 'Diggory' but she figured it was the child's imagination getting to him perhaps/

"Reid wanted me to come pick the kid up so they can head home. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning for Texas to work on the case though so Spencer has Will taking the kid until we get back." Derek requested and Penelope's face fell, especially when Derek then told her she was needed on the case as well. Damnit.

"If you insist sweet cheeks, just let me say goodbye to my baby." She demanded unhappily as she stood up and shifted Hayden to resting his tiny baby soft cheek against her shoulder and she cradled his body, pressing kisses to his soft curls before she reluctantly passed him to Derek who settled Hayden on his hip. The six-year-old stirred and gave them a groggy stare as he tried to comprehend the situation. He suddenly stiffened as he realized someone else entirely was holding him.

"Hey easy there kiddo, it's me remember? I'm Derek Morgan, an FBI agent like Spencer. You remember right? There's a good boy. Want to go back to sleep? I'm taking you back to Reid right now. Want to say goodbye to Penelope?" Throughout this, the boy had finally calmed down and gave a timid wave to Garcia who immediately took the hand and showered it with many more kisses, evoking a tiny smile at that. Derek grinned and withdrew them from the technical goddess' lab, taking the boy back to the bullpen where Spencer Reid was packing up.

"Got you a present," Derek snickered and he felt a little lost as he set the boy down. The boy hadn't tensed as much after he'd said he was an agent at least, but he still felt the tension from the tiny child. It was upsetting to know that the boy was so wary of everyone now. He hoped that Spencer could help the kid recover from his ordeal.

Now all they had to do was finish this case tomorrow and pray Hayden would eventually talk.

**Author's Note: I really hope I got the characters down, but if I didn't does anyone want to give me some helpful tips on the Criminal Minds Characters? Harry's OOC until his mind merges… or maybe he'll never be IC. Haha. This was a light-hearted chapter because of all the dark from the first three chapters. I hope you enjoyed it and there's more to come! Please please review especially if you have any suggestions like ideas (and not my spelling or grammar. I know I'm bad. Lol). **


	6. The Promises You've Made

Candles

**Harry Potter x Criminal Minds **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Harry Potter. I am just a fan fiction writer.**

**The Promises You Made**

Chapter Six

His head hurt a lot and it felt funny. For one thing, Hayden was starting to not be able to think straight and there was someone else in his head; that much he was aware of. Every time he tried to play with those cool toy trucks, this 'person' would stop him! It was frustrating and finally Hayden had managed to get the person to play with the toys.

Spencer had come back by then and Hayden was happy. He really liked the adult who spoke so nice to him ever since the bad person had come and hurt his mommy and daddy. He didn't want to be alone and Spencer was the best good person he liked, he'd decided. So therefore, he'd clung to the man as much as possible although the stupid guy in his head, Harry, refused to let him cling.

"So Hayden, you know how I work with the FBI?" Spencer had asked him. Hayden felt himself nodding even though he wanted to ask what the FBI was. Apparently, Harry knew, so Hayden let him take over for once, not that it was very willing of him. His head was hurting too much for him to argue back with the older boy that was sharing his body. "How would you like to come meet our technical analysis and play with her for a little bit?"

Harry had shrugged and Hayden felt miffed that the older boy made that decision and not him. Harry hadn't even wanted to play with the trucks! So why did he get to say if they wanted to play with someone? This was not fair at all and he tried to shove at Harry but doing so in one's mind really wasn't plausible, although he felt a little like he had because Harry 'shoved' him further back and he grumbled unhappily though he did manage to convince Harry to take the toy truck.

Hayden was happy to meet Penelope Garcia and when he finally did he was excited and quite content. She tried to play games with him but stupid Harry kept getting in the way and it frustrated the 6-year-old to the extremes. Harry was no fair at all and while Penelope had started playing another video, he'd succeeded in pulling Harry into their mind, making his body go limp as if sleeping.

'Stop taking over!' shouted a frustrated child.

'What do you want me to do kid? We're getting headaches from each other and it's starting to be too much on you, I can tell.' Harry comforted. Hayden gave Harry a sniffley glare and crossed his arm in a pout.

'You kept thinking of a merge thingy or something. What's that?' Hayden asked.

'It'll co—put both of us together. We'll be the same person then. It won't hurt. I promise.' Harry said to him. Hayden gave him a thoughtful look, wondering if that would actually work but he couldn't help but question the how of this. He voiced his concern aloud and Harry shrugged.

'Should we link hands or something?' Hayden suggested and the two stood face to face, Harry kneeling down to be his height. They looked at one another, puzzled, before Hayden brought his tiny hand up to meet the older boy's and brushed against the other's rough skin.

Nothing happened.

'This isn't working!' said an exasperated Hayden as he stomped his foot in irritation.

'Perhaps we should imagine the merge and touch?' Harry asked and they proceeded to think about the other fading before they touched hands. There was a sharp pain and Hayden screamed out in pain, feeling the ache of misery and a stab at his innocence constantly invade him and he cried loudly, trying to escape the pain in vain…

"Oh god Morgan! What the hell do I do? He's crying. He's in pain or something! I can't tell… There are no symptoms for this sort of pain Morgan! Damnit! Just get Hotch for me."

"Hayden, wake up for kiddo. Can you do that? There's a good boy," Hayden slowly became aware of Spencer Reid hovering over him. Where was he? He cracked open his eyes only to whimper and roll onto his side, curling up.

"Hurts," he croaked.

"What hurts Hayden?" Spencer asked softly.

"My tummy," Hayden cried. Spencer tried to press his hand against his stomach to assess the damage but Hayden only cried harder. The six-year-old's head was feeling like it had cracked open and his heart was aching so badly. Why did everything hurt? Where did Harry go?

Harry? Did the merge work? Was that why he was feeling like he was about to die? There was so many memories forcing it's way into his head that he couldn't decipher them but he knew they were Harry's memories. He was able to understand certain words but his small body wouldn't have a chance of pronouncing them.

"Hey now, everything's going to be alright. Can you tell me how you feel right now? Where it hurts elsewhere?" Spencer pressed.

"My head and heart," whimpered Hayden as he reached a hand for Spencer who paused before taking hold of it a little awkwardly, though his tone didn't change from it's soothing calamity. There was so much chaos going on in his head now, Hayden didn't know if the merge had even succeeded a bit or if it would ever go away.

_Sirius… Mum… Dad! Remus… No, please don't leave. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

Hayden's tears poured down his face and he squeezed his eyes shut, whimpering. All he could think of was how Harry broke his promise of it not hurting because this hurt more than anything he'd ever felt and it wasn't just physical.

**Author's Note: Hayden's POV finally came into play and the merge is starting but it isn't complete. I hope that Hayden makes it through. Review and I'll be a happy camper, trust me. **


	7. Couldn't Finish What You Started

Candles

**Harry Potter x Criminal Minds **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Harry Potter. I am just a fan fiction writer.**

**Couldn't Finish What You Started**

Chapter Seven

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…

…He remembered riding his bike for the first time, his dad grinning broadly and boasting to his wife that he was going to be a star athlete one day…

…"_Are you really Harry Potter?" …_

…"Hi! My name is Hayden!" …

…_Too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express…and together they walked back through the gateway to the Muggle world…_

His first day was over and summer vacation had never seemed so exciting to the five-year-old before. He ran to his mother with a yell of excitement.

…Harry stood, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else. The werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward…

…His mom had explained to him why he could no longer see his granddad and grandmom anymore. They had joined others up in a place called heaven where they'd always be able to watch over him. He just wanted to see them though, but he knew he couldn't and it hurt…

…"The Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts." …

…Hayden stood, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the horrific moment to notice anything else. That moment when his mother and father were taken from him, more violent than anything he'd ever seen. Harry had been the one taking over their shared body at the time as his mom and dad were –murdered…

…The green light flashed around the room and she dropped like her husband. The child had not cried all this time. He could stand, clutching the bars of his crib, and he looked up into the intruder's face with a kind of bright interest, perhaps thinking that it was his father who hid beneath the cloak, making more pretty lights, and his mother would pop up any moment, laughing…

He screamed out as the memories continued to assault him, one after another. Hayden's scream was Harry's scream; Hayden's pain was Harry's pain. The pain was so terrible and his head hurt so badly. Twenty years of memories invaded his six-year-old body and he writhed about just as one Spencer Reid entered the room, panicked as he heard his charge in agony.

The windows exploded in a cascading waterfall of glass shards, causing Spencer to throw himself onto Hayden to protect the boy as it cut into the both of them, snapping Hayden from the throes of nightmare.

"Spencer," he whimpered. He'd been talking ever since the merge, but simple words and very seldom did he do so. It had been a day since the merge began and the process was nowhere near done, that much Hayden could tell. Harry's memories thwarted his every thought and his body greedily sucked him into the magic-inducing nightmares. There were some pleasant memories but Hayden had just as many terror-seeing memories given to him as he did enlightening ones.

_Harry's introduction to the Wizarding world_… _Seeing Voldemort_…

Spencer held Hayden to his chest and rubbed his back gently, murmuring comforting words.

"Hey, it's alright. Everything's all right. You're safe here Hayden. No one can get you here…" Spencer soothed.

"I don't want to go back to sleep," Hayden finally whispered, saying the most he'd ever said around the FBI agents, let alone Spencer. The genius nodded and continued rubbing Hayden's back until he stood up, making sure Hayden was watching him as he lifted him into the air and rested him onto his hip.

"What do you say we go on a car ride to Morgan's house?" Spencer suggested quietly as he carried the boy out of his room and into the bathroom to clean both of their cuts up from the glass. Hayden tilted his head to the side in confusion and the man elaborated, "Sometimes I find that Morgan is a good distraction."

"'Kay," whispered Hayden as Spencer applied pressure to his wound and fixed him up with a brightly colored Band-Aid.

It didn't take the two long before Spencer had Hayden bundled up in a warm coat and was leading him up the driveway of one Derek Morgan's home. He knocked on the door with his free hand, the other captured in his ward's grip.

"Reid, what're you doing here at this hour?" yawned Morgan as he let them in.

"Thought you could use a bit of company," Spencer said sheepishly as he knelt down and did his best to unbutton Hayden's coat. The young boy looked at him as he did so, giving a very small smile.

"Hey Hayden, Morgan has a few toys over here in the living room if you want to go play with them," suggested Spencer. He wasn't surprised when Hayden shook his head and clung to him stubbornly. Sighing, he looked at Morgan who gave him an amused grin.

"So any luck on locating a relative of Hayden's?" Morgan asked as he disappeared into the kitchen and returned with drinks, giving a juice box to Spencer to hand to Hayden since he kept those in the fridge whenever he babysat his neighbor's child, which wasn't very often.

Spencer ushered Hayden into the living room with Morgan before shaking his head. Hayden had a hand tightly latched onto Spencer's pant legs and didn't look like he'd let go any time soon to Morgan's amusement.

The two colleagues were quiet as Hayden's interest diverted. His head was hurting in painful twinges and he couldn't see straight to be honest, but the memories were still converging together, leaving him disoriented and unsure of what to do. He settled for leaning against Spencer's knee, closing his eyes as Spencer ran a hand through his hair.

"…He talked…"

"Head hurts? …"

"…Sleeping…"

Hayden blinked as he was lifted up and placed onto a lap, causing him to panic as he noticed he was on Morgan's lap. The man shushed him and rubbed his back while Spencer reached over awkwardly and let Hayden grip his hand.

"Hey there, it's all right. See? Spencer is right there. Just try to get some shut eye, okay kid?" Derek soothed and he had to smile indulgently when Hayden slowly closed his bright green eyes and rested his head against his chest, trusting both men to keep him safe.

"I don't know much about children experience wise," sighed Spencer, "only from what I've read and it's hard to put child care into practice to be honest."

"It'll take time. Until we have it fully established that he has no living relatives he'll be staying with that. You ready for that, pretty boy?" Morgan explained. Spencer looked at the boy and had to smile at the youthful face. Something had captured their attention about this boy and Spencer already knew he wouldn't give this kid up without a fight. Even an awkward social-stunted boy genius like him could see he was attached to Hayden.

"Yeah," he answered. "I'm ready for that."

**Author's Note: So that's a little more in-depth to the merging. The merging should complete next chapter and reveal if it was successful or if Harry's mind is still there and all that pain was for nothing. Wonder what's going to happen. Please please please review? I like to hear people's thoughts on this story.**


	8. Only Darkness Still Remains

Candles

**Harry Potter x Criminal Minds **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Harry Potter. I am just a fan fiction writer.**

**Only Darkness still remains**

Chapter Eight

Someone was shaking him ever so slightly.

"Hayden? You awake kiddo?" Spencer whispered and Hayden mumbled sleepily before cracking open an eye at the man groggily.

"Go 'way. 'm sleeping," mumbled Hayden as he turned and proceeded to go back to sleep. He heard Morgan's chuckle and felt a callous hand brush through his hair before the two men left. He peaked open an eye and frowned.

Harry was gone but so was the previous Hayden. In it's place, the two had merged and memories had become overlapped as if Harry had lived Hayden's life and vice versa. This whole thing was confusing to the 6-year-old, but he knew he was Harry and yet he was not.

Damn, he needed a fire whiskey.

This brought him to the other question on his mind. Did magic exist here? Was this even another universe or another country instead? Spencer had said America earlier, so perhaps he was only in a different country. He frowned, deciding to somehow cast magic without his wand and find this out. Although…

Right! Before the merge, he'd made his dinner eat each other with accidental magic. Obviously, magic still existed because of him at the very least, so that only left the question of others. He had to be in the same world…

Everything was just so confusing to him right now that in the end he just declared the solution completed and wanted to move on. His mom and dad, like Harry's, had been murdered so therefore he honestly had no family to turn to. He searched his memories and couldn't even find a relative to rely on. They were so alike, the boy-who-lived and he.

Instead of going back to sleep, he slid out of bed and tugged on a jacket since he was cold. The trip to the living room wasn't too long and he soon found himself facing the BAU team. He stiffened.

"Thought you went back to sleep Hayden," Spencer stated in surprise, a questioning tone in his voice.

"You woke me up," he mumbled. "Couldn't stay asleep..." Spencer offered him a sympathetic and apologetic smile before beckoning the boy over to him. Hayden hesitated before walking over, eliciting a small squeak when he was lifted up and onto the man's lap. He was tense at first before he mentally scolded himself and slowly relaxed against the FBI agent, leaning against his chest.

Hayden studied the FBI agents that were talking. He'd been introduced to them before, so he knew their names at the very least so he decided to study everyone except Penelope and Spencer. Firstly, there was Agent Aaron Hotchner. They all called him Hotch apparently though the man wanted Hayden to call him Aaron. He struck Hayden as a similar Professor Snape, only more easygoing and serious about his work rather than Snape had been when it came to his students. He didn't smile too much and he didn't make a lot of joke like Derek was doing currently. Spencer had told him he was the SSA Unit Chief, though he had no clue what SSA meant.

Attention drifting, he looked at Derek Morgan who had instantly wanted him to call him Derek though everyone called him Morgan. This whole different name thing confused him just a bit, but he complied. The dark-skinned agent was very easygoing to him and had been nothing but kind to him since the beginning. He was very confident and rather assertive in how he spoke to the others sometimes, which interested Hayden. He was reminded of several of his old friends (or were they Harry's old friends?) even though Bill Weasley could be the most prominent one.

In front of Derek was Emily Prentiss; her dark long hair attracted the little boy, why? He had no idea. She was quiet, though joking with Spencer the most, and Derek. She had said he could call her whatever he wanted to, so he stuck to calling her Emi. He had yet to say the nickname aloud, but he hoped she wouldn't be too angry with him for it. From Harry's memories, he could quite clearly remember Aunt Petunia screaming at Harry/Him for calling her Aunty Tuney.

David Rossi was a serious looking man and honestly, Hayden couldn't really compare him to any of Harry's world. He was serious, but he had a lot of character that both amused and awed him sometimes. Hayden inclined his head, peering closely at the man before Spencer's chest rumbled to signify he was talking and he turned to see whom he was chattering with.

JJ was pretty and reminded him somewhat of Fleur except obviously JJ was an adult and American. Nevertheless, she obviously was a mother, always looking at Hayden, seeking assurance he was all right, before she'd continue about her talking.

Overall, he decided, they were an okay bunch and Hayden snuggled against his guardian, pleased that Spence wrapped an arm around him securely. He yawned and closed his eyes, ready to take a small nap on the man's lap. The memories had finished merging, but Hayden had a suspicion that it wasn't over yet. He may have Harry's complete memories finally, but the other boy's personality had yet to merge with him.

Hayden could only hope Harry didn't overwhelm his own personality too much. He rather liked being himself after all.

Author's Note: So Hayden is still taking over because it IS his body after all. Harry's merging is not completely done except for memories, so the personality shift will be crazy next chapter. He was sleeping a lot because physically, he's worn down and his little body can only take so much at a time after all. His anger and paranoia will battle with Hayden's innocence a lot and probably drive poor Spence up the walls. Sorry for the lateness, I've been going through some depression irl and it's not getting easier for me. Might write a fanfic to ease those emotions but it's whatever. Please Review! It makes me happy.

**POLL! Whose POV should it be in next chapter? Spencer, another BAU member, or Harry/Hayden?**


	9. Lost Sight, Couldn't See

**Candles**

**Harry Potter x Criminal Minds **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Harry Potter. I am just a fan fiction writer.**

**Only Darkness still remains**

Chapter Nine

The office was pretty much quiet except for Derek Morgan's laughter and Emily Prentiss' bickering with him as the two sat at their desks, relaxed as was the normal on one of their paperwork days. The casual glances they threw each other as they noticed something amiss was one of familiarity and concern.

"Wonder where Reid is. He's never been late," commented Morgan gleefully.

"Well, he does have a child to look after now," scolded Emily, rolling her eyes as Morgan ignored her and continued to think up reasons why Spencer Reid was late.

The boy genius came hurtling through the door minutes later, looking worn out and good god he was a mess.

"Man, someone try to kidnap you?" Morgan asked in a shocked and outraged tone.

"No Morgan," Spencer said tiredly. "Hayden ju—"

"That kid did that to you?" Emily laughed.

"Hayden hasn't been feeling very well," Spencer continued, glaring at Emily as he sought to fix his hair before anyone else saw him.

"Is he ill?" Morgan asked, eyebrows furrowed. Spencer nodded.

"His temperature ran 100 last night and has not gone down during the night," Spencer related with a concerned look on his face. "He's been snapping at me and throwing quite an enormous amount of fits since eight o'clock last night."

Morgan whistled at that and inquired where the boy was. Spencer told them where he'd left the boy…

…Meanwhile one Hayden Porter was very unhappy with being left to the clutches of some nanny. Apparently she was Spencer's neighbor, but Hayden didn't care if she was an angel, she was acting like he was an invalid! He was six, thank you very much.

Anger welled through him suddenly and Hayden did his best to stop, but he was kicking and punching his bed before he could very well stop himself. It had to be the fever, he blamed. He was too busy trying to separate himself from who Harry used to be to really combat this illness, which he'd gotten from probably all the stress of the situations.

Poor Spence had been his victim last night and this morning. He'd made his cup explode this morning and the room to become freezing last night. This accidental magic was becoming quite unstoppable and luckily Spencer seemed more concerned with taking care of him to notice.

"Hayden, why don't we watch a cartoon?" she asked after finally getting it through her blonde head that he wasn't some baby.

The six-year-old shrugged and walked into the living room to settle down on the couch while she allowed him to use the remote and went to make lunch.

Hayden turned on the television and settled down to watch some spooky flick when his eyes glued to the tv in horror, watching the terrifying film for a few seconds before…

Spencer was busy working on paperwork, deflecting Morgan and Prentiss's attempts to slide in more work for him, when he got the phone call. He answered it with his eyes on the paper in front of him about needing a signature or another when he nearly dropped the phone at the screaming.

"Mr. Reid? Hi, this is Heather. I was babysitting Hayden, remember?"

He fought the urge to strangle her. "Yes Heather, is something wrong?" His heart was beating profusely and he estimated it going at 80 mph.

"He got ahold of a scary movie on the TV and I think it freaked him out. He's crying an awful lot. What do I do sir?" Heather sounded like she'd join Hayden in that terrified screaming that Spencer could now identify as crying if he didn't help her.

"I'm on my way home, try to reassure him and please do NOT touch him. He reacts badly to being touched when panicking," Spencer said hurriedly as he gathered his jacket and messenger bag before running out of the office, leaving his stunned team in his wake.

The ride to his place took forever in Spencer's mind as he hurried to lock his car and took the steps two at a time until he fumbled for his keys and raced in, hearing nothing. He skidded to a halt as he saw Hayden's disheveled appearance and Heather.

She was dead.

Spencer's eyes widened, looking at Hayden's petrified eyes, his eyes red and he was shaking uncontrollably. A knife was beside the little boy and Heather was covered in her own blood. Spencer felt he was going to be sick but he simply scooped Hayden up into his arms and fumbled for the phone, not caring that blood soaked his shirt from Hayden's bloodied hands.

Hayden was covered in blood as well.

Spencer thought he was about to lose his lunch. He fumbled with his phone and called his team. The whole time he was on the phone, practically babbling to Hotch, Hayden remained deathly quiet and still, his small fists clenching Spencer's brown vest and tan shirt. He kept staring at Heather no matter where Spencer carried him or positioned him on his hip. Spencer was unnerved to say the least.

Could Hayden have done this?

**Author's Note: This is short, BUT it's some of the tension building up. Do you think Hayden/Harry caused Heather's death? Only one way to find out. Sorry sorry sorry for not posting at all but I've been crazily busy and I think I found a plot twist for my other story so that I can continue it soon. Look for an update from me soon! You gotta review though. Seriously, my other stories have over 100 reviews and this one is barely getting any. Makes me wonder if this is really worthwhile. **


	10. When It Was You and Me

**Candles**

**Harry Potter x Criminal Minds **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Harry Potter. I am just a fan fiction writer.**

**When it was you and me**

Chapter Ten

"The victim was 20-year-old Heather Stolar who was babysitting Spence's charge," JJ sighed. "It seems to point towards Hayden Porter as the suspect."

"The kid is six years old," argued a police officer who was on the case with them.

"He's also the charge of one of our teammates, so we are not taking this lightly," Aaron Hotchner told the officer with his ever serious look. His eyes fell on Spencer Reid who was holding Hayden on his hip and talking to the little boy softly, appearing quite frazzled.

"Hayden," Spencer tried softly. "Can you tell me what happened?" Hayden looked up at him solemnly and back down at his hands which were now cleaned up and bandaged, the team having discovered his hand was cut from the knife. It only added to the mystery quite frankly.

'I wish I could Spencer…' Hayden thought. He couldn't for the life of him explain what had partaken in that one hour. He'd been watching a scary movie when it had begun to bring up Harry's memories of the Battle of Hogwarts. He'd been screaming, he remembered, from the memories assaulting his brain once more and he remembered the sitter calling Spencer.

Then, _he_ showed up. A man decked in black robes and a mask had appeared, about to grab him, when Heather had appeared and blocked the man from taking him. He'd stabbed her and before he could reach for Hayden, Harry's magic had set something off and the knife was _accio_ed to his hand, cutting it, and Hayden had dropped it in shock.

The man had vanished when Spencer arrived and Hayden honestly couldn't describe exactly what had taken place.

"Hayden," Spencer tried once more. "Please. What happened?"

The six-year-old looked up at the man's face, his eyes searching for something before he gave in. He could try at least—for Spencer's sake at any rate. The man had just come home to find what looked like his little charge murdering his neighbor after all.

"I-It wasn't me Spence," Hayden whispered. Spencer looked relieved to have him talking and consequently, Hayden had the team's attentions. He struggled to talk, still shocked at all the blood that had been so much like his mom and dad's murder.

"She saved me," he said, comprehension hitting him like a wave of bricks as Harry's self-hate hit him. "The bad man wanted me but she died for me!" Tears streamed down his cheeks as he looked loathed at himself.

"Hey now, none of that," Morgan ordered as he lightly tapped Hayden on the nose, startling the boy. Hayden looked at Morgan searchingly before he nodded silently, rubbing his cheeks of the dampening tears. He decided to seek shelter against Spencer's neck and pressed his head against the man's shoulder, an arm reaching to clutch the man's opposite shoulder for support.

"Was there any sign of someone entering?" Morgan asked his guardian and Hayden felt Spencer nod and explain of the window open when he'd finally become aware of things besides his little charge and the dead sitter.

They eventually chose to stay at Hotch's house since Spencer's apartment was the crime scene. Spencer had finally set Hayden down only for the little boy to be confronted by one Jack Hotchner.

"Daddy, why's he here with Uncle Spencer?" Jack asked curious.

"Hayden and Spencer are going to stay with us for a little boy," Aaron assured and Jack seemed satisfied, reaching over and taking Hayden's hand into his, declaring that they were going to play now. Hayden looked unsure, but did follow the other boy into his room.

Aaron looked at Spencer and the two went into the living room to discuss what would happen now while Hayden learned how to play with another child, the first time Harry had ever done so. He was amused by the block game Jack invented and the two raced one another with Jack's toy cars.

There was silence between the two men for a few minutes. "I don't think it's safe, to be honest," Hotch told the boy genius.

Spencer nodded. "I know, but I believe Hayden. He couldn't have murdered Heather. If you look at the angles of the knife and the cut on Hayden's hand, you'll find it's as if the knife slammed itself into his hand, and the position of Heather's stab wound is too high for a little boy." Hotch nodded, looking thoughtful.

There was a loud crash and both men shot out of their feet in record time, running into Jack's room at the sound of crying. Hotch immediately found that it was his son crying and he ran towards Jack, trying to make sense of it when he saw the broken firetruck and a horrified Hayden beside it.

"Reid, you might need to control him," Hotch nearly growled as he lifted Jack up and tried to calm him down.

Hayden looked at Spencer with wide eyes as the man turned to him. Jack was crying too much to make much sense of what he was saying. "You know what you did was wrong don't you?" Spencer questioned harshly, knowing that Jack was upset and that this was the second time he'd found Hayden in an undesirable position.

"I-I didn't –"

"DON'T try to blame it on some 'man in a mask'," snapped Spencer angrily. "I think maybe you're the actual murderer of Heather and I should have never taken you in!"

Hayden looked shocked at Spencer. He didn't mean that! Did he? Tears stung his eyes at Spencer's cold manner and he felt hurt.

"I'm n-not!"

"Don't lie to me! I've had it with the lying and the tantrums! You've been burdening me enough as it is!" the FBI agent continued.

Hayden couldn't take it anymore. He ran, out of the room and far away from the three as he could. He was out of the house and down the street before they had any time to react.

Spencer and Aaron spent nearly an hour trying to get Jack to calm down and when they did they weren't very expecting of what the little boy told them. He'd been crying because he'd been surprised by what truly happened and apparently Hayden hadn't directly broken the toy.

A man had broken into Jack's room somehow while Spencer and Aaron were in the other room, and he'd smirked at Jack before using _something_ before the toy had come flying at Jack and would have injured the boy if Hayden hadn't pushed him out of the way. The toy had broken against the wall and the man had disappeared, which had been the breaking point and Jack had broken down from the scare.

Spencer felt a horrible turning in his stomach at the boy's words.

There really was someone after Hayden it seemed, planning to pin him with blame and Spencer had walked into his playing hand. The six year old little boy was outside by himself at night.

And it was because of one Spencer Reid…

**Author's Note: Dun Dun Dun! Will the unsub from chapter three finally get Harry Potter? If you're confused by all of this it's simple, a man in a mask and black cloak has been using magic to apparate and has been getting Hayden blamed for things so that someone will hurt him, perhaps break him. **

**Review and I'll be a happy camper?**


	11. Blow the candles out

**Candles**

**Harry Potter x Criminal Minds **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Harry Potter. I am just a fan fiction writer.**

**Note: Sorry if Spencer seemed OOC last chapter, but if you've watched as much Criminal Minds as I have you'll have spotted that he is quite capable of losing his anger. He thought he'd been taking care of a murderer for a second and left him with his boss's son, so it is quite understandable though what he said was cold, I know. **

**Blow the Candles Out**

**Chapter Eleven**

Snow.

It drifted peacefully amongst the world, as if an angel glowingly making its front stage on the pavement and dirt. It stuck together as one, snowflakes giggling as it clashed into things and stayed as if to chatter there and eventually slide down to join the rest on the ground.

He was shivering as he found himself surrounded by once luscious oak trees, decayed by humanity and nature combining forces. Where was he? He remembered nothing as his surroundings had blurred at his run.

'_Nothing to do now_', he mused as he scooted to sit beside a tree, shivering, and terrified.

The personalities seemed to have clashed and molded itself together, and all Hayden could feel was his own emotions, mixed together with Harry's. He felt wary, terrified, angry and hurt. It was as if Sirius had told him those things, might as well have been Sirius. He'd trusted Spencer out of that group and look where it had gotten him! _No one to turn to anymore_…

They all thought he was a murderer. Was _he_? He'd killed Voldemort directly. Others had died for him, including Heather the sitter. Jack had almost gotten severely injured from the toy. Who was that man who'd shown up at both locations?

It was starting to rain and Hayden thought it was rather appropriate. He sniffed, pulling his feet closer to his small body in an effort to prevent any rain from splashing on his bare toes. He realized he was dressed in shorts and a tee shirt, but that was his entire attire. Bugger…

"So we meet again Potter," chuckled an unidentifiable voice and Hayden snapped his head up, searching for the voice. He didn't see anything, not a soul, within his vision and he shivered violently, trying to pull his small body closer to himself. He opened his mouth to demand who the disembodied voice was when he heard a dog barking and suddenly –

"Clooney!" Hayden gasped as the dog bowled him over. The dog was Morgan's and Hayden had played with him when he'd been over at the man's house. Clooney woofed happily and the next time Hayden glanced at where he'd heard the voice, Morgan was standing there and Hayden flinched in surprise. The dark skinned man frowned at Hayden and he couldn't help but think that he was going to get yelled at.

"I'm sorry!" blurted out the child and the next thing he knew, Morgan had him in his arms and was rubbing his back soothingly, words stumbling out of the agent.

"Hey, hey now. You've got nothing to be sorry for. It's alright. Shhh," the man calmed as Hayden found himself crying noiselessly against him. Morgan finally stood up with Clooney barking cheerily in triumph for having found the little boy. Morgan shifted Hayden onto his hip and patted the dog, giving rightly due praise.

Derek was concerned by the little boy's silence, but relieved Hayden trusted him for the moment even after Spencer's actions. He was going to tell Reid off for that later, much later, but he couldn't help but think it should have been expected. A man in his late twenties with no social skill or parental skill was taking in a kid who had witnessed murder and now had someone after him.

"I'm a murderer though," whispered Hayden.

Derek looked Hayden in the eye. "Did you take that knife to Heather?" When the little boy shook his raven locks, the FBI agent leaned close until Hayden was looking directly into his eyes. "You are not a murderer Hayden. You did not kill Heather."

"B-but she died because of me," Hayden argued. Derek felt a pang of sadness that one so young knew about the woes of death and murder already, while most would still be talking about those going to heaven with angels instead of how they died.

"But did you directly tell him to take her life?" Derek quipped and Hayden fell silent, a yawn erupting from the child before he could help himself. "Enough of this baby boy, let's get you home." Hayden stiffened.

"Please don't make me go back to Spencer," pleaded Hayden and Derek sadly sighed before conceding and telling the boy they would instead head back to his own place. Hayden nodded and hesitated before Derek felt warm breath slap against his neck as a head nestled against his shoulder. He felt a smile tug on his legs and he hoisted Hayden into a better position before using his free hand to pat Clooney in signal that they were leaving the forest.

Covering Hayden up with the flap of his jacket, the dog and man bore the boy from the oak trees and disembodied voice. The thought brought Hayden's mind whirling. The boy-who-lived's reincarnation felt as if he were missing something. Yes, he was reincarnated into the body of a child, and therefore Hayden instead of Harry, but… how did this come about?

What was Ron and Hermione doing, he wondered. Were they even aware he was missing, or had his own life been torn apart. Would Hermione be waking up and immediately burying herself in studies to give house elves a better life, a pursuit of career in the Ministry she had taken upon after her education at Hogwarts, her final year that she returned to that Harry and Ron did not? Would Ron be continuing rounding up Death Eaters after his best friend and now coworker was missing? And Ginny… _Ginny…_ Would she have found someone else now?

There was silence and Hayden closed his eyes. No, he wouldn't cry. He had the feeling he knew he'd never be able to return. The date of today was the same as it had been when he'd looked at the date in his old flat. Yet, he felt as if he was far away from them. _Would_ he ever see them again? A six-year-old could only do so much to travel, and to tell someone he was 20 years old? It was absurd, especially as he realized he was no longer that age. He was honestly six years old, with the experiences of memories and magic from the boy-who-lived.

"Okay, kid?"

Hayden looked up at the end of the sentence and realized Derek had been looking at him in concern, the two of them seated safely upon the couch in Derek's living room. He looked back down silently.

"Am I a freak?" Hayden asked softly.

"What!" Derek exclaimed in shock, making Hayden cringe. "No! You're not a freak. Who told you that!"

"Kids in my neighborhood," lied Hayden partially. While Hayden had never been called a freak, Harry had in his childhood. Merlin, this was all so confusing. He was Hayden, but he was Harry as well. He needed a butterbeer.

It took a good hour before Derek stopped telling Hayden that he was not a freak and by then the little boy felt tired. He yawned, letting Derek halt and jostle him gently with murmurs of 'bedtime' before standing up with him in his arms.

"Thank you," murmured the six-year-old boy-who-lived reincarnation before sleep claimed him. He was safe, from the land of the living yes.

But not from the land of oblivion.

**Author's Note: Ok I know you want to hit me with something for not updating, but I've been so busy with two jobs and police training that I sort of just stopped and collapsed where I was. Can't even bring myself to write a lot, but I got this chapter out and I'm going to get myself to keep going! Cough, anyways. So this chapter was a sort of passive one and I tend to like it because Morgan gets to be the hero here. **


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